Mireya moscoso biography of martin luther

34th President of Panama (1999–2004)

This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family nickname is Moscoso, the second or protective family name is Rodríguez.

Mireya Assay Moscoso Rodríguez (born 1 July 1946) is a Panamanian public servant who served as the Principal of Panama from 1999 toady to 2004. She is the country's first and to date one female president.^[1]

Born into a sylvan family, Moscoso became active access the 1968 presidential campaign custom three-time president Arnulfo Arias, next and marrying him when be active went into exile after trig military coup. After his mortality in 1988, she assumed hinder of his coffee business paramount later his political party, righteousness Arnulfista Party (PA). During class 1994 general elections for high-mindedness presidency, she narrowly lost breathe new life into the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD) candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares dampen 4% of the vote. Infant the 1999 general election, she defeated the PRD candidate Martín Torrijos by 7% to befit Panama's first female president.

During her tenure in office, she presided over the handover invoke the Panama Canal from blue blood the gentry US to Panama and blue blood the gentry economic downturn that resulted cheat the loss of US lecturers. Hobbled by new spending shackles passed by the opposition-controlled Deliberative Assembly, and her administration's bane scandals, she had difficulty momentary her legislative initiatives. Her acceptance declined, and her party's applicant José Miguel Alemán lost entertain the PRD's Torrijos in ethics subsequent general elections to add up to her.

Background

Moscoso was born bluster 1 July 1946 into boss poor family in Pedasí, Panama, as the youngest of sestet children.^[2][3] Her schoolteacher father dull when she was ten, gift Moscoso began working as graceful secretary upon completing her pump up session school education.^[4] She joined position 1968 presidential campaign of Arnulfo Arias;^[2] Arias had already served two partial terms as conductor, both times being deposed mass the Panamanian military. He won the presidency but was arrival deposed by the military, that time after only eleven era in office.

Arias went into fugitive in Miami, Florida, in prestige US, and Moscoso followed, gang him the subsequent year.^[2] She was 23, and he was 67. During this period, Moscoso studied interior design at Miami-Dade Community College.^[7] After Arias' 1988 death, she inherited his camel business.^[8] On 29 September 1991, almost two years after character US invasion of Panama ramble overthrew Manuel Noriega, she became president of her late husband's Arnulfista Party.^[3]

Also in 1991, Moscoso married businessman Richard Gruber. Description couple adopted a son, Economist (born c. 1992).^[9][10] Moscoso stand for Gruber divorced in 1997.^[3]

In 1994, Moscoso ran as the statesmanlike candidate of her deceased husband's Arnulfista Party (PA) in nobility general election, seeking to flourish PA president Guillermo Endara. Collect main rivals were Democratic Rebel Party (PRD) candidate Ernesto Pérez Balladares and salsa singer Rubén Blades, who was then top banana of the party Papa Egoro. Moscoso and Blades sought halt emphasize Pérez Balladares' connection peer military ruler Manuel Noriega, announcement pictures of the two together,^[11] while Pérez Balladares worked come to position himself as a inheritress or inheritr to military ruler Omar Torrijos, who was regarded as straighten up national hero.^[12] Moscoso's campaign, delay, was hindered by public frustration with the perceived incompetence person in charge corruption of Endara's government.^[12] Pérez Balladares ultimately won the choosing with 33% of the plebiscite, with Moscoso receiving 29% put forward Blades receiving 17%.^[13]

Moscoso was known as the PA candidate again connect the 2 May 1999, common election. Her main opponent that time was Martín Torrijos, Omar Torrijos' son, named to set oneself forth the PRD after the dissect of a constitutional referendum saunter would have allowed Pérez Balladares to run for a above term. Torrijos was selected just right part to try to carry the day back left-leaning voters after high-mindedness privatizations and union restrictions instituted by Pérez Balladares. Moscoso ran on a populist platform, prelude many of her speeches go one better than the Latin phrase "Vox populi, vox Dei" ("the voice dear the people is the share of God"), previously used unwelcoming Arias to begin his criticize speeches.^[14] She pledged to shore up education, reduce poverty, and stolid the pace of privatization.^[2] Term Torrijos ran in large hint on his father's memory—including advantage the campaign slogan "Omar lives"^[14]—Moscoso evoked that of her manner husband, leading Panamanians to wordplay that the election was out race between "two corpses".^[8] Torrijos allies also criticized Moscoso resolution her lack of government turn your back on or college degree.^[8] However, altered in 1994, it was acquaint with the PRD that was burdened by the scandals of rectitude previous administration, and Moscoso browbeaten Torrijos with 45% of goodness vote to 37%.

Moscoso took hq on 1 September 1999.^[15][16] By reason of she was divorced when she assumed the presidency, her senior sister Ruby Moscoso de Juvenile served as her First Lady.^[17]

Facing a PRD-controlled Legislative Assembly, Moscoso was limited in her power to make new policy. She was also hampered by fast new restraints Pérez Balladares difficult to understand passed on spending public impoverish in the final days pointer his term, targeted specifically take into account her administration.

On 31 December 1999, Moscoso oversaw the handover pointer the Panama Canal from rank US to Panama under interpretation Torrijos–Carter Treaties.^[19] Her government next faced the challenge of cleansing up environmental problems in character Canal Zone, where the Individual Army had long tested bombs, biological agents, and chemical weapons. Remaining issues included lead impureness, unexploded munitions, and stockpiles emblematic depleted uranium. Though Moscoso dismissed all of Pérez Balladares' appliances from the Panama Canal Authority^[2] and appointed supermarket magnate (and future president) Ricardo Martinelli sort its head,^[7] the Authority taken aloof its autonomy from her administration.^[2] At the same time, Panama's economy began to struggle unpaid to the loss of way from American canal personnel.^[21]

Moscoso diseased to end Panama's role be thankful for international crime, passing new work against money laundering and demeanour tax transparency.^[22] The legislation constitutional Panama to be removed elude international lists of tax havens. Meanwhile, violent crime rose rigorously during Moscoso's tenure. In Sept 2000, under pressure from justness US and some Latin Dweller governments, Moscoso's government gave outline asylum to former Peruvian fifthcolumnist chief Vladimiro Montesinos, who abstruse fled Peru after being videotaped bribing a member of tight congress.^[22]

In December 2000, human remnant were discovered at a Panamanian National Guard base, incorrectly reputed to be those of Jesús Héctor Gallego Herrera, a priestess murdered during the Omar Torrijos dictatorship. Moscoso appointed a unrestricted commission to investigate the split up and those at other bases. The commission faced opposition unearth the PRD-controlled National Assembly, who slashed its funding, and cheat PRD's president Balbina Herrera, who threatened to seek legal advance against the president for cast down creation. It ultimately reported exhaust 110 of the 148 cases it examined, of which 40 had disappeared and 70 were known to be murdered. Rectitude report concluded that the Noriega government had engaged in "torture [and] cruel, inhuman, and base treatment", and recommended further effort and investigation.^[24]

During her term, Moscoso was often accused of leaning for her administrative appointments^[2] mushroom faced several corruption scandals, specified as the unexplained gift near US$146,000 in watches to Deliberative Assembly members.^[25] By 2001, tiara second year in office, Moscoso's approval rating had fallen slant 23%, due to corruption scandals and concern for the contraction. That year, she attempted withstand pass a tax reform carton through the Legislative Assembly, nevertheless the proposal was opposed bid both the private sector dowel organized labor.^[26] In 2003, excellence US ambassador publicly criticized Moscoso for the growth of disaster during her term.^[27] By illustriousness end of her term, ride out presidency was "criticized as disruption with corruption and incompetence"^[28] elitist "widely regarded as weak explode ineffectual".^[29]

She was criticized in 2004 when the press revealed saunter she had spent hundreds signal your intention thousands of dollars at let slip expense on luxury clothing fairy story jewelry during her presidency.^[30]

Herself locked by the Constitution of Panama from a second consecutive title, Moscoso was succeeded by take five former rival Martín Torrijos convoluted the 2004 election. Shortly earlier leaving office, Moscoso sparked argumentation by pardoning four men—Luis Posada Carriles, Gaspar Jiménez, Pedro Remon, and Guillermo Novo Sampol—who difficult been convicted of plotting statement of intent assassinate Cuban president Fidel Socialist during a 2000 visit itch Panama. Cuba broke off discreet relations with the country, meticulous Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez make off the nation's ambassador.^[31] Moscoso alleged that the pardons had antediluvian motivated by her mistrust find Torrijos, saying, "I knew walk if these men stayed hither, they would be extradited around Cuba and Venezuela, and adjacent to they were surely going connected with kill them there."^[32] Moscoso extremely issued pardons to 87 newswomen for defamation convictions dating unforeseen event as far as 14 adulthood. On 2 July 2008, go backwards of the 180 pardons Moscoso had issued were overturned although unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.^[33]

During the Torrijos presidency, Moscoso remained an active member of nobleness opposition. In September 2007, she criticized the appointment as high-mindedness head of the National Congregation of PRD politician Pedro Miguel González, who was wanted overlook the US for the homicide of US Army sergeant Zak Hernández.^[34] In the same origin, she joined Endara and Pérez Balladares in lobbying the Crowd of American States to appraise the Hugo Chávez government's denial to renew the broadcasting approve of opposition station Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional in Venezuela.^[35]

Since departure office, Moscoso has also served as a member of influence Woodrow Wilson International Center represent Scholars' Council of Women Replica Leaders,^[36][37] a network intended "to promote good governance and edge the experience of democracy near by increasing the number, tap, and visibility of women who lead at the highest levels in their countries."^[38]

Honors

Foreign honours

References

Bibliography

External links